Following the video game crash of 1983, Nintendo brought new life to the industry with the NES in 1985. The console launched with 17 games, including the side-scroller classic Super Mario Bros., which sold over 58 million copies. Around this time, producer/director Roland Joffé gained much attention for his Oscar-nominated films The Killing Fields and The Mission. Seeing the rising popularity of the Mario franchise, Joffé met with Nintendo to discuss adapting the game to film. Through his studio, Lightmotive, Joffé promised Nintendo complete creative control, but they felt the franchise was strong enough for experimentation. The studio hired Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel, the creators of Max Headroom, to direct, though this led to problems. With a cast featuring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, and Dennis Hopper, and a $48 million budget, Lightmotive had total confidence. In May 1993, Super Mario Bros. went from the TV to the silver screen.
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Synopsis
Mario (Bob Hoskins) and Luigi (John Leguizamo) are struggling plumbers in Brooklyn who are close to going out of business. One day, the brothers meet Daisy (Samantha Mathis), an NYU student digging for dinosaur bones under the Brooklyn Bridge. While Mario and Luigi help her with a leak, Daisy is kidnapped by Iggy (Fisher Stevens) and Spike (Richard Edson). The brothers follow her and land in Dinohattan, a parallel version of Manhattan, where humans have evolved from dinosaurs. Iggy and Spike bring Daisy to King Koopa (Dennis Hopper), who wants a meteorite piece she keeps around her neck. Koopa wants the fragment to restore the meteor that struck Earth millions of years ago to merge the dimensions. It’s up to Mario and Luigi to rescue Daisy, retrieve the meteorite piece, and stop Koopa from ruling the dimensions. But this ain’t no game, as the universe hangs in the balance.
Review
Since its disastrous 1993 release, almost everyone has called Super Mario Bros. one of the worst movies ever. While I wouldn’t call this a good movie, I don’t think it’s as bad as its reputation would suggest. Morton and Jankel might’ve been slightly over their heads, but they certainly had some ambitious ideas. The weird, dystopian, sci-fi setting of Dinohattan is unique and has some interesting details, like baby carriages with eggs. Sure, the Blade Runner-like setting is as far removed from the games as possible, but it’s still fascinatingly weird. Also, even if he hated making the movie, Bob Hoskins was a solid casting choice for a live-action Mario. Like Hoskins, Dennis Hopper may have hated the experience, but he’s entertaining as the over-the-top villain, King Koopa. On the other hand, John Leguizamo was an odd choice for Luigi, but he’s likable enough.
Aside from how different the film is from the games, the biggest problem is how inconsistent the tone is. While Alan Silvestri is a legendary composer, his lively music doesn’t fit with the grimy, grungy setting of Dinohattan. Given how the dark setting clashes with some of the goofier moments, it’s evident this ran into many production problems. The digital effects range from looking outdated to decent, but they’re better than some late 90s CGI. The film’s best effect is the fully animatronic Yoshi, which looks on par with the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park. At an hour and 44 minutes, the film often forgets specific plot points and drags considerably toward the middle. While it wasn’t the Mario movie audiences wanted, I’m glad it exists as this weird artifact of unhinged 90s filmmaking. Overall, Super Mario Bros. isn’t a good movie, but it’s earned its cult status.
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